The XFiles: Aricontous
by Emma Barrows
Summary: Something escapes a local zoo...but it has an appetite for humans....
1. TheXFiles: AricontousPrologue

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

PROLOGUE

LARDEN, MARYLAND

JUNE 3rd, 2003

WALTERS RESIDENCE

(A small town just outside Baltimore)

"You can't catch me!" cried 6 year old Lizzie Walters as she playfully ran around her 3 year old brother, Eric.

"Nof Aire!" Eric cried as he eagerly chased after Lizzie.

Each time Eric tried to say, "No fair," it sounded like "Nof Aire."

Just then, their mother stepped out onto the back porch, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Kids! Time for dinner!" called 34 year old Julie Walters.

The children had been playing out in the backyard with the family dog, a German Shepard named Joey.

They eagerly hurried back into the house with the dog bounding after them. The backdoor slammed shut as Lizzie and Eric happily sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's for din din?" Lizzie asked.

"Spaghetti," Julie replied.

"Yaaay! Spasghetti!" Eric cried happily.

Julie smiled and shook her head. She went over to the stove where a large pot of spaghetti was boiling. She reached above the kitchen sink and pulled out a bowl. She then went back over to the stove and began dishing out some spaghetti for Eric. Once he had his supper, she handed Lizzie hers and then got some for herself. She sat down at the kitchen table next to Lizzie.

Julie's husband left her 2 years ago for his secretary. She was dumped quickly for someone younger and prettier. It didn't matter since Julie had a good job herself. She was the president of La Rennet National Bank here in Baltimore, Maryland where they had a two-story white colonial home with a wrap around porch and an arc driveway.

Her husband hadn't paid child support since he left. Julie had tried everything to get him to pay. She finally had to go to court to force him to. Now, once a month, she gets about $200 dollars for both Eric and Lizzie to split for clothes, medical bills, and food.

Julie has shoulder length light blond hair and blue eyes. Lizzie has shoulder length dark brown hair and honey brown eyes. She looks like her father. Eric, however, looks exactly like Julie with short, wavy blond hair and blue eyes.

Eric was hungrily digging into his dinner. Lizzie was eating as well.

"Hey…how about we go to the movies tomorrow?" Julie suggested.

"Yeah! What will we see?" Lizzie cried ecstatic.

"How about _Fuzzy Bunny and the Turtle Race_?" Julie asked.

Both kids cheered.

"Okay…it's a date then," Julie grinned.

They continued to eat dinner.

Once they were done, Lizzie and Eric played in the living room in front of the TV while Julie watched a movie on the TV.

Just then, a news reporter came on the screen. She was standing in front of the local zoo.

"I'm standing in front of the local zoo where one of its prized animals had somehow managed to escape and is now on the loose in Baltimore. If you should see an unusual looking animal, please report it to the local police immediately. It is extremely dangerous and hostile. It has already killed 2 people. This is Annie Manson for WLKD Channel 3 news,"

"But what kind of animal is it?" Julie mused as she switched to another channel hoping they would have more detail on what sort of animal had escaped, but each station was saying exactly the same thing.

"Ugh. So basically we're looking for a weird looking animal? That's a lot of help," Julie muttered.

Julie checked her watch. It was nine o'clock at night.

"Alright you two knee nibblers, it's time for bed," Julie said.

Lizzie and Eric whined, but allowed Julie to lead them upstairs to their beds. She tucked Eric in first, then kissed him on the forehead. Then, she tucked Lizzie in and also gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Night," she whispered.

"'Night, mommy," Lizzie said, and she turned over onto her side and immediately fell asleep.

Julie carefully closed Lizzie's door and then went to bed herself.

Around midnight, she heard glass breaking downstairs. Julie jumped awake and groped around for the old baseball bat she kept near her bed. She gripped it and carefully tossed off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She padded barefoot over to the bedroom door and out into the hallway.

First, she crept into Eric's room and told him to hide under the bed. Then, she went into Lizzie's room and told her to hide in the closet. She crept downstairs, holding the bat like a sword.

She reached the bottom step and saw bits of glass lying on the living room carpet. She heard noises coming from the kitchen. She tiptoed toward the kitchen, her heart pounding loudly in her chest the entire time. The silvery glow of the full moon cast silver/white triangles against the wall through the blinds in the living room.

She took a deep breath before she jumped into the kitchen brandishing the bat in front of her. The garbage was tipped over, spilling out everything. But there was nothing there.

She lowered the bat, and started to breathe easier but that's when she heard the growling behind her. Immediately, her adrenaline began rising again. She adjusted the grip on the bat. Then, something jumped on her from behind and stood on her back. The next thing she knew was a set of powerful jaws clamping down on her neck and head.

It walked up the stairs on all fours. It sensed there was another person in the house. It reached the top of the stairs and sniffed the air. It turned to the left and entered a room. It could smell the child under the bed. It lowered its head and clamped its jaws on the child's leg and dragged him out from underneath. He was screaming as It began mauling him and it clamped its jaws around the child's head and bit down. The screaming stopped.

It sniffed the air once again and got a faint scent of one last human. It walked out of the bedroom and back out into the hallway. It found another bedroom and sniffed the air as it stopped in front of a closet to look around searching for the root of the scent it picked up. Finding nothing, it turned and galloped out of the bedroom and jumped cleanly out of the living room through a bay window in which it first entered.

Lizzie Walters sat in the closet, breathing heavily and shaking.

Once she was sure it was gone, she opened the closet door and hurried out into the hallway and into her brothers' room. She saw him lying on his stomach, his head crushed. A small pool of blood stained the carpet. She screamed and fled downstairs, hoping to find her mother.

She found her mother near the kitchen in the same condition. Lizzie screamed again and dropped to her side as she fainted.


	2. TheXFiles: Aricontous01

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

CHAPTER ONE-THE EVIDENCE

"So the little girl found her brother and her mother?" asked FBI Agent Dana Scully as she and her partner, FBI Agent Fox Mulder, walked toward the Walter's residence in Baltimore, Maryland.

"Yeah. She hasn't spoken to any of the officers that found her," Mulder said.

"Who called the police?" Scully asked.

"A neighbor. She said she saw something weird leaving the house on four legs," Mulder replied as they ducked under yellow POLICE CRIME SECENE tape that was surrounding the house.

"A dog?" Scully suggested.

"No. She said it looked strange, but she couldn't get a clear glimpse of it because it stuck to the shadows. Apparently, the Walter's had a German Shepard, but it's nowhere to be found," Mulder said.

Mulder and Scully entered the house and entered the living room. There were forensics taking blood samples from the body near the kitchen, and some were upstairs taking samples from the child. They were dusting for fingerprints also. Scully saw a little girl about six sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. She had shoulder length dark brown hair and honey brown eyes. She was adorable. A detective was crouched down in front of her, asking her some questions. She looked up when she spied Agent Scully and Agent Mulder.

"Hi. You must be Agent Mulder and Agent Scully," the detective said, extending her hands. Mulder and Scully shook it. "I'm Detective Ellie Brown."

"What's wrong with her?" Agent Scully asked, peering around Detective Brown's arm to the little girl.

"She appears to be in shock. We haven't been able to get her to talk to tell us what happened to her mother and brother," Detective Brown said gravely.

"What condition is the mother and brother's body in?" Scully asked.

While Agent Scully and the detective talked, Mulder walked over to the little girl and sat down on the coffee table in front of her. She was dressed in pink lamb pajamas and she was hugging a white stuffed bunny. Mulder noticed something in the little girls' hair. He carefully reached over and took it. He examined it. It looked like a chip of blue paint.

"Scully? Could you come here for a moment?" Mulder called over his shoulder.

He heard Scully excuse herself from the Detective as she came over and sat down beside him on the table.

"What is it?" Scully asked.

"I found a chip of blue paint in her hair," Mulder said, showing Scully the chip. "I think she was hiding somewhere."

"You might be right…but where?" Scully mused.

"Let's find her room," Mulder said.

Mulder and Scully headed upstairs. The body of the little boy had been taken out as well as the mothers and put into the coroner's van. Mulder and Scully found the little girl's room. Mulder noticed the closet door open. He went over and pulled it open even more. The interior of the closet was painted a blue and there was a piece missing from the left side of the wall exposing the white sheetrock underneath.

"The closet," Mulder replied.

Scully nodded but just then, there was a commotion downstairs. 

They rushed from the bedroom and downstairs to the living room, where the little girl was hysterical and fighting Detective Brown's attempts to calm her down. Mulder and Scully hurried over.

"She just went hysterical. I think she's snapping out of the shock," Detective Brown said, looking upset.

Scully sat down beside the little girl and put her arms around her, gradually calming the little girl down until she was sobbing.

"What's her name?" Mulder asked.

"Lizzie. The mother's name was Julie and the brother's name was Eric. Apparently, the father had left them a few years ago and it's just been Julie, Lizzie and Eric living here. We still don't know where the dog went,"

"Can we have a try?" Scully asked.

Detective Brown nodded. "Sure,"

Mulder returned to sitting on the coffee table while Scully was sitting on the couch with the little girl. She had her arms around her.

"Lizzie? My name is Dana and this is Fox. Can you tell us what happened?" Scully asked in a soothing tone.

"I want my mommy," Lizzie sobbed.

"I know," Scully said, calmly and gently. "But we need to know what happened."

Lizzie raised her eyes to Scully and looked over to Mulder.

"Something big came into my room and stayed for a minute before it left," Lizzie said.

"Can you tell us what it looked like?" Mulder asked, gently and softly.

Lizzie shook her head. "No. It was dark…but it was very furry,"

"What color was it?" Scully asked.

Lizzie frowned. "Orange,"

"You got her to talk," Detective Brown said, relieved as she came over. "Hi honey. I'm Ellie."

Lizzie just looked at Detective Brown and didn't reply.

"Do you have a grandma or grandpa to come and get you?" Detective Brown asked, kindly.

Again, Lizzie didn't reply, but buried her face into Scully's arm.

"I think meeting two people for today is enough. We don't want to stress her out," Scully replied. "Does she have any relatives?"

"Her father, but we've contacted him and he wants nothing to do with her," Detective Brown said, sadly.

Mulder sighed irritably.

"We could look after her until another relative is contacted," Scully said. "We'll call you if she tells us anything along those lines."

"Sure. No problem," Detective Brown said.

"Where's the nearest hotel?" Mulder asked.

"About 2 miles from here. It's a good motel," Detective Brown said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She left. Lizzie unburied her face from Scully's arm.

"You're going to stay with us for a while," Scully said, gently. "Until we can find someone to look after you."

"I want my mommy," Lizzie said as fresh tears began forming.

"I know, but mommy won't be coming back," Scully said.

Lizzie burst into tears as she wrapped her arms around Scully. Scully looked at Mulder. He looked just as upset and pained as she felt.

Once Lizzie stopped crying, Mulder picked her up in his arms. Lizzie had wrapped her arms around Mulder's neck and was resting her chin on his shoulder. She was still clutching her bunny.

Mulder was dressed in black slacks, a white long sleeved shirt which, was under a matching black suit jacket and a navy tie. He has short, wavy thick dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Scully was dressed in a cream colored straight skirt, a white V necked shirt and a matching cream colored blazer. She has chin length light auburn hair and blue eyes.

Scully and Mulder headed back out of the house and over to a 2003 blue Ford Crown Victoria, four doors.

Lizzie had fallen asleep in Mulder's arms.

Scully opened the back door behind the driver's seat and Mulder gently laid her down across the back bench seat and used his suit jacket as a blanket to cover her. She was sound asleep as Scully closed the door and they climbed into the front seats. Mulder was driving.

Scully closed her door and so did Mulder. Mulder started the car and put it in drive. They pulled away from the curb.

SCULLY.

I glanced over the shoulder of the front passenger seat at Lizzie. She was out cold in the backseat, lying on her side.

"The poor kid," Mulder said, sighing. "Imagine seeing your mother and brother dead."

"I know," I said, quietly. "But we still have no idea what killed them," I said, as I turned back around in my seat and looked out the window.

"She said it was orange, right?" Mulder asked as he made a left turn onto a road. 

"Yeah. But what animal is orange? Orangutans are orange, but there's no way it could do that much damage to a human," I said, frowning. "What else is orange?"

Mulder looked at me. It began raining heavily. He switched on the windshield wipers.

"What ever animal did this had to be extremely powerful and have the jaws like an alligator. Both the mother and the little boys' heads were crushed. They looked like they had been under a cement roller," I continued, lowering my voice.

"God," Mulder said, quietly. "I think unfortunately, we're going to have to wait and see if this thing strikes again. Hopefully then we'll be able to get a better description of what killed the Walters."

I nodded.

Mulder and I have been working together for nearly six years now. We've become best friends, but lately I've been having different feelings toward him. He's become more than my best friend. I trusted him with my life and I know he trusted me with his.

About ten minutes later, we came across the motel. Mulder pulled up in front of the manager's office. He pushed open his door and climbed out, closing the door and hurried into the office. The rain was still coming down heavily. The wipers moved across the windshield making a 'thump thump' sound. There was a large wooded area just beside the motel. Suddenly, I saw something streak through the trees. I leaned forward and wiped the windshield with the sleeve of my blazer as it had gotten fogged. I saw something orange streak through the trees again before it disappeared.

Mulder was coming out of the manager's office. He quickly opened the driver's side door and slid onto the seat. He was soaked. Water droplets dripped down his temple. His hair was nearly matted to his head.

"Okay. We've got two rooms. Number 11 and 12," he said, handing me the number 12 key. He paused and noticed my expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

"I just saw something orange streak through those trees," I said, gesturing toward the wooded area.

"You sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "Absolutely,"

"Could it have been a deer?" Mulder suggested, tilting his head as he put the car in drive and we pulled up in front of the two rooms. There was a diagonal parking spot in front of the rooms.

"I don't know. There was something about the way it moved," I said, frowning. "It was too fast."

Mulder was silent.

"We should get some sleep,"

"Tomorrow I'd like to go to the morgue and have a look at the bodies. Could you stay with her?" I asked.

Mulder nodded. "Sure,"

We pulled up in front of the room and pushed open our doors. We closed them at the same time. I opened the back door and gently picked Lizzie up in my arms. I carried her over to room 12. Mulder stood in front of room 11. He looked at me and grinned.

"'Night Scully,"

"'Night Mulder,"

We entered the rooms. I closed the door behind me and locked it. I carried Lizzie over to one of the beds and pulled down the covers. I laid her down and pulled the covers up over her. She was really cute and I felt terrible for her. I changed into an old pair of sweats and I climbed into the other bed. Pretty soon, I had dozed off.

Around one o'clock AM, Lizzie woke up screaming. I jumped awake and switched on the light. Lizzie was sitting bolt upright, sobbing uncontrollably. I tossed off my covers and went to go over to her, but there was a banging on the door. 

"Scully? It's me," Mulder called.

He must've heard Lizzie screaming. I went over to the door and unlocked it. He immediately barged in.

"Is everything okay?" he demanded.

"Yeah. I think Lizzie was having a nightmare," I replied as I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her.

Mulder closed the door behind him. He was dressed in navy jogging pants and a white tee shirt.

"Poor thing," he said, as he sat on the other side of Lizzie.

He put his face close to hers.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently and softly.

"I had a bad dream," Lizzie sobbed.

"Want to tell us about it?" I asked, in a gentle tone.

"I saw that monster again and it attacked you," Lizzie sobbed, now burying her face into Mulder's arm.

"It was just a dream. I'm going to be fine," I said, soothingly.

Lizzie seemed to have taken a shine to Mulder. She wrapped her arms around Mulder's midsection and buried her face into his side. Pretty soon, she had dozed off again.

"She certainly had taken a shine to you," I said, grinning.

Mulder grinned back.

"Yeah. Except how am I supposed to go back to my room?"

"Why don't you stay here? I'll take the chair," I suggested.

"Don't be stupid. There are two beds here. I don't bite you know," Mulder said, winking.

"I don't want to take that chance," I said, keeping a straight face. "Trust me…it's okay."

I grabbed a pillow and the blanket off the second bed and curled up in one of the big comfy chairs in a corner. Mulder leaned against the headboard. Lizzie was holding onto him still. So, Mulder ended up sleeping sitting up.

The next morning, I awoke around seven o'clock. Mulder was already awake and dressed. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with Lizzie, who was also wide-awake. They were both grinning at me.

"Morning!" Lizzie said, brightly.

"Morning," I said as I stood up and stretched. My back was killing me. I cringed and rubbed the spot.

"You okay?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah. Just a little crick in my back," I replied as I bent a little backward. "Ahh, there we go."

I realized Lizzie was still in her pajamas.

"Mulder? I think we should get Lizzie a pair of clothes. She's still in her PJ's," I said.

"Good idea," Mulder said.

"Could you wait outside while I get showered and changed?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure,"

He left the room. I quickly showered and changed into a navy woman's pants suit with a light blue V-necked shirt under the blazer. Lizzie and I left the room and met up with Mulder, who was waiting by the car. We climbed in and closed our doors.

First we bought Lizzie a change of clothes before heading to the morgue. Mulder waited outside of the car, facing away from it as I helped Lizzie change inside the car. Once she was dressed again, Mulder slid into the driver's seat again and we continued to the morgue.

Once we hit the morgue, Mulder stayed with Lizzie in the car while I went into the one story marble building. It had double sliding doors. I met the ME and he took me into an examination like room. The two bodies of the Walter's family were lying on metal tables covered in white sheets. The ME took me over to the mother. He pulled back the sheet exposing her head.

"There are two puncture wounds that are huge," the ME said. "They look to be about 2 and ½ inches wide."

The two puncture wounds were on the side of the head.

"Any idea what might've done this?" I asked, carefully examining the rest of the body.

"No. Unless there's an animal out there with canines the side of machetes, I have no idea," he said. "The boy is in worse condition."

He covered the mother and showed me the little boy. The head was in the same condition as the mothers, but there were parts of the boys' body that looked like they had been eaten.

"There's definitely something out there that we haven't seen yet," the ME said. "I've never seen this much damage done to a body before. It looked like it had gone under a rotary tiller."

He covered the boys' body up. 

"Have you done and autopsy yet? Have you found anything unusual?" I asked.

"Not yet and no,"

"I'd like to do one if that's okay," I said.

"Sure,"

"Great. Let me just tell my partner," I said and headed back out of the morgue.

MULDER.

Scully came back out and asked me to take Lizzie for some ice cream as she was going to do an autopsy on the two bodies. I agreed and turned on the car and pulled away from the curb.


	3. TheXFiles:Aricontous02

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

CHAPTER THREE-THE SECOND KILLING

"So, what flavor do you want?" I asked Lizzie softly.

"Chocolate," she replied.

I had found an ice cream store and pulled up in front of it. I shut off the car and pushed open my door. I climbed out and closed it, then helped Lizzie out of the car. Lizzie stayed close to me as we entered the store. I was dressed in a black suit and tie. I stood at the counter.

"Hi. Can I help you?" a girl dressed in a fifties style uniform asked brightly.

"Yeah, I'd like a chocolate sundae and a vanilla one to stay," I replied looking down at Lizzie. 

She gave me a big grin.

"Aw, your daughter's cute," the girl said as she began making the sundae's.

I smiled. "She's not my daughter. My name is Fox Mulder. I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We're looking into the murder of Julie and Eric Walters. Have you noticed any strange animals around here?" I asked, as I showed the girl my FBI badge and ID.

She put the two sundaes on the counter and rang up the prices.

"Five dollars," she said. 

I handed her a ten-dollar bill.

"No. But there was a report on the TV about some animal escaping from the local zoo. They didn't give much detail about what it looked like," the girl said, handing me back my change.

"When did the report come out?"

"Yesterday," the girl said.

"Did you see anything unusual around here?"

The girl frowned. "No, nothing weird,"

"Okay. Thanks for your help," I said as I took the sundaes and we found a table near the back. Lizzie was sitting across from me. I was facing the door. Lizzie began happily eating her sundae.

I began eating mine. So there was a report on the TV about an animal escaping the local zoo. But why wasn't much detail given? How were the people supposed to know what this thing looked like in order to call the authorities?

Just then, a man came in dressed in a dark green jumpsuit. I saw the words stitched on the shirt part above the left breast pocket:

OLLAVAN ZOO

He glanced at me before returning his eyes onto the girl behind the counter. He ordered a milk shake and then turned to leave.

"Stay right here, okay Lizzie?" I said.

She nodded and continued to happily eat her ice cream. I stood up and followed the man outside.

"Excuse me? Can I ask you a question?" I asked, showing him my FBI ID and badge. He took off running.

I quickly took off after him. I finally managed to catch up to him and grabbed him, banging him up against a wall.

"Why'd you run?" I demanded, gripping the collar of his shirt.

He didn't reply.

"What type of animal escaped the zoo?" I demanded again. 

Again, he didn't reply.

"Answer me!" I shouted.

"It was a test animal! That's all I know I swear!" the man cried, throwing his hands up defensively.

Believing him, I released him. He took off running occasionally looking back at me.

Breathing heavily from running I headed back to the ice cream store.

Lizzie was still sitting at the table. The girl behind the counter was crouched down beside her and was talking with her.

"I gave her a free chocolate pop if that's okay," the girl said standing up when she saw me.

"That's fine," I said, smiling.

The girl smiled and went back behind the counter. I sat back down in my seat and continued eating the sundae.

About a half an hour later, I checked my watch.

"Scully should be done by now," I said and looked at Lizzie. "Shall we go back and see Scully?"

Lizzie nodded.

"You're done?"

Again, she nodded.

We stood up and threw away the empty sundae containers. We headed back to the car. I opened the back door behind the passenger seat for Lizzie and she climbed up onto the back bench style seat. I closed her door and climbed into the driver's seat. I closed my door, started the car and we pulled away from the curb.

I pulled up in front of the morgue again. I glanced at Lizzie in the rear view mirror.

I wondered if she knew this is where her mother and brother were. I felt terrible for her. Scully had gotten her a pair of jeans and a pink tee shirt with sneakers and socks. I returned my eyes onto the double sliding doors. Scully was coming out of the building. She pulled open the passenger side door and slid onto the seat before closing her door.

"So?" I asked.

Not wanting to say anything in front of Lizzie, she handed me a tan manila folder. I opened it up and nearly fell over.

There was pictures of the mother and son. Both heads were crushed.

I began reading the report:

Both mother and son had two puncture wounds on the side of the head approximately 2 and ½ inches wide. The son had the radius missing as well as a piece of the femur and tibia. Teeth marks were found on the bones as if an animal gnawed on the arm and leg. It appeared that some large predator had eaten those parts. A human growth hormone was found in both bodies. There was about 59% of the hormone found, above the amount normally found in a healthy person. It was at a lethal dosage. 

The skulls have been crushed by something along the lines of 300 pounds.

I looked at Scully. She looked concerned.

"Something happened to them. We've got to find out what," she replied.

"Well, while Lizzie and I were eating ice cream, we found some interesting facts," I said, closing the folder and I handed it back to Scully.

"Apparently, yesterday there was a report on the tube about an escaped animal from the local zoo, but not much detail was given as to what type it was. Then, I found someone that worked in the zoo and questioned him. He told me that it was some sort of test animal," I replied, as I put the car in drive and pulled away from the morgue.

"A test animal?" Scully asked, curiously.

"Yeah, but again, no details. He said that was all he knew," I replied stopping for a red light.

"I bet that's what attacked…" Scully's voice trailed off.

"I wouldn't doubt it, but we don't know what _It_ is," I replied. 

Just then, the door to the Sheriff's office opened and the sheriff waved at us.

We pulled over. Scully rolled down her window all the way.

"Are you the two FBI agents here to investigate the Walters murder?" he asked.

We nodded.

"There's been a second killing. Follow me," he said as he climbed into his blue jeep with red and blue dome lights on top and a gold shield on the driver's side door that read LARDEN SHERIFF in gold letters and he started the jeep.

He pulled out of the parking spot. We followed him.

He pulled in front of a two-story blue and white Victorian about 20 minutes from the Sheriff's station. There was a young woman frantically waving the Sheriff over. The Sheriff pulled over. We followed.

"Stay in the car, okay hon?" I asked, peering over the shoulder of the driver's seat at Lizzie. She nodded and gave me a big grin. I grinned back. Scully and I pushed open our doors and climbed out, then closed the doors and we walked over to the young woman. The Sheriff was trying to calm her down.

"What happened?" the Sheriff asked.

"My sister! She was out in the backyard playing with our dog when this huge orange animal attacked them!" the young woman cried.

Scully and I pulled out our 9mm Smith and Wesson's and clicked back the hammers. We carefully made our way toward the backyard.

We peered around the edge of the house and moved our guns around. There was no sign of the animal. The body of the sister was lying on her back. The body of the dog was lying not too far away. Scully and I put our guns away and went over to the body. We crouched down beside it.

"It's the same as the Walters'," Scully said, quietly as her eyes moved onto the dogs' body next. "And the dog is the same way."

Scully pulled out her cell phone and called the coroner. We stood up and walked back to where the Sheriff and the young woman were standing.

"Did you get a good glimpse of the animal?" I asked.

The young woman frowned. "It looked like a orange cat,"

"A cat?" the Sheriff asked, startled.

"That's what it reminded me of," the young woman said as tears formed. "Lily's dead…and so is Boo…aren't they?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm so sorry," Scully said, gently.

The girl nodded and then broke down. The Sheriff put his hand on the girl's shoulder before he came over to us.

"I'm Sheriff Adam Anderson," Sheriff Anderson introduced himself. He extended his hand. Scully and I shook it.

"I'm Agent Mulder and this is Agent Scully," I introduced.

"What do you think this is?" Sheriff Anderson asked putting his hands on his hips. He was dressed in dark green slacks, a light tan shirt with his shield and nametag pinned above the left breast pocket. Around his waist was a leather holster where his gun, handcuffs and keys were. He has short, wavy thick light brown hair and brown eyes.

"We don't know. There's no eyewitness that was able to get a clear glimpse of this animal," Scully said. "I heard there was a report on TV saying that an animal escaped the local zoo?"

Sheriff Anderson nodded.

"Yeah. The Ollavan Zoo,"

"I found one of the members and questioned him. All he said was that it was a test animal," I said.

"A test animal? It's illegal here to do testing on animals," Sheriff Anderson said, startled.

"I don't know about that, but whatever this is it is totally dangerous and killed three people and a pet," I said.

"So far no one has gotten a clear view of this animal," I said. "But one witness said it was orange and looked like a cat."

"A cat? Odd. We don't have mountain lions or anything close to that here," Sheriff Anderson said tilting his head. "Maybe it's a domestic cat they saw?"

"I doubt it very much. The amount of damage on the bodies is way too extensive for a normal house cat. We're talking almost 2 and ½ inches deep from scratch marks," Scully replied.

Sheriff Anderson's eyes widened.

"2 and ½ inches deep?"

We nodded.

"Alright. I'll put a bulletin out stating that if anyone sees anything unusual, or any type of animal resembling a car, to call immediately. Either me or you," Sheriff Anderson said.

"I think that's a good idea since we still have no clue as to what we're dealing with here. All we know is that it's extremely aggressive and lethal," Scully said.

"I'll drive her to her sisters for now," Sheriff Anderson said, as he went over to the girl and put his arms around her. They headed over to the jeep. Scully and I headed back to the car. Lizzie was watching us.

We climbed into the front seats and closed our doors.

SCULLY.

I glanced back at Lizzie. She gave me a big grin. I couldn't help but smile back. Mulder gave her a wink.

"If they don't have any mountain lions or anything similar here in Maryland, what on earth could it be if the witness described it as a cat?" I mused.

"Something the zoo was testing on and didn't want the public to know," Mulder replied.

"That sounds right," I replied.

"I say we head back to the motel now," Mulder said.

Mulder started the car and we pulled away, heading back to the motel.

HARRIS RESIDENCE.

MIDNIGHT.

"Mary? Did you remember to leave the doggie door open for Patch?" asked 69 year old George Harris to his wife, Mary, sitting beside him in bed. She had been knitting.

"Of course, George," Mary replied.

"Let's get some sleep. It's after midnight," George replied.

"I agree. Good-night, honey," Mary said as she reached up and turned off the lamp.

"'Night," George replied.

Both of them settled down under the covers and were fast asleep.

Around 3 AM, George was awakened by glass breaking downstairs. Mary jumped awake as well.

"What is it?" Mary whispered, frightened.

"I don't know. Stay here," George said as he grabbed his rifle and clicked back the hammer on the rifle. He tossed off the cover and got to his feet, silently padding outside the room into the hall. He closed the door behind him, protecting Mary. Mary pulled the covers up to her tighter and watched and listened fearfully.

George silently crept downstairs. The doggie door their Jack Russell Terrier, Patch, used, looked like a human had tried to crawl through it. It was torn completely out of the door's bottom.

"Good Lord," George whispered as he saw large, muddy paw prints leading from the hole in the door through the kitchen on the tiled floor.

He followed the prints into the pitch-black dinning room. Just then, he saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes. George froze.

The next thing he knew, something jumped on him, knocking him backward. He felt a huge set of jaws clamp around his throat and head. They clamped down. Blackness swallowed him up.

Mary didn't hear anything downstairs anymore. She was really terrified. Then, she heard someone coming up the stairs.

"George?" she called tentatively.

There was no reply.

"George? What was that noise?" Mary asked again.

There was still no reply.

She heard something breathing heavily outside the door.

"George?" she asked for the third time, but weaker and more terrified. "Patch?"

_It's probably Patch._ She concluded.

"Patch? Here boy!"

There was a silence outside the door now.

"Patch? Come on boy!" she called.

Somehow, Patch had figured out how to open the doors. He would rear up on his hind legs and open the door using his paws.

Then, something large and orange jumped through the door, tearing it off its hinges. Mary screamed as a large animal leaped on her and began mauling her. Blood began staining the sheets and one of its paws caught the pillow. Feathers began floating around. Then, it clamped its jaws around Mary's throat and tugged.

Blackness swallowed Mary up as the feathers settled down in blood red sheets.


	4. TheXFiles:Aricontous03

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

CHAPTER THREE-ENCOUNTER

SCULLY.

Around nine AM the next morning, I was awoken by the phone ringing.

I groggily reached onto the nightstand and picked up the receiver.

"Agent Scully," I said, as I sat up.

"Agent Scully? It's Sheriff Anderson. There's been another attack," Sheriff Anderson's voice came on the line.

"Where?"

"About a half an hour from here," Sheriff Anderson said. "1093 Endlit Road. The old Harris residence."

"Okay. We'll be there," I said and hung up the phone. 

I tossed off the covers. Lizzie was slowly stirring.

"Morning," I said, brightly to her.

"Morning," Lizzie said.

I helped her get dressed and then showered and changed into a navy suit. I rang Mulder's room and told him what happened. He quickly got dressed and we headed out to the car.

Lizzie was sitting in the backseat again.

"Hey, you like music?" Mulder asked as he glanced into the rear view mirror at Lizzie and then leaned forward to turn on the radio.

"Yaaay!" Lizzie cried happily.

A song came on the radio by Haley Duff, Hilary Duff's sister. The song was called "Girl in the Band".

I called Detective Brown and told her about Lizzie. She agreed that it might be best for Liz to stay with us for a while. She'd be safe until relatives could be called.

We arrived at the scene. Sheriff Anderson was waiting for us in front of the house. This time, we took Lizzie with us because Mulder was starting to feel guilty for leaving her in the car all the time like a dog. So, Lizzie took Mulder's hand and we walked over to Sheriff Anderson.

"Who's this cutie?" Sheriff Anderson asked, grinning at Lizzie.

Lizzie buried her face into Mulder's side. Lizzie seemed to be taken with us only. She didn't like meeting anyone else and was shy.

"Lizzie Walters. Her mother and brother were killed by this thing as well," I replied.

"Poor kid," Sheriff Anderson said sadly.

"Okay. Mary and George Harris were found in two spots. Mary was found in the bedroom while George was found near the dinning room," Sheriff Anderson explained.

"I'll stay with Lizzie while you go check the bodies out," I offered to Mulder.

Mulder handed me Lizzie's hand. Lizzie took my hand, but watched Mulder as he walked away. I crouched down in front of Lizzie.

She was dressed in denim overalls over a white tee shirt. Her hair was fluffed around her shoulders.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" I asked.

Lizzie nodded.

We began taking a walk. There was a large wooded area beside the Harris' home. Suddenly, I spied something on the ground. I crouched down beside it. Lizzie was next to me.

It was a large paw print. But it was the size that was incredible. It looked like the size of a bear's paw, but yet it looked like a cat's paw.

_My God. The animal that made this would have to be over 200 pounds. _I thought shocked.

I decided to go back and see if Mulder found anything unusual. I took Lizzie's hand and we walked back.

Mulder was walking toward us as we approached him. He looked pale.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The damage done to Mary Harris was greater than what happened to George," Mulder said.

"In what way?" I asked.

Immediately, Lizzie rushed over to Mulder and took his hand.

"She was practically mauled and eaten," Mulder replied, swallowing.

My eyes widened.

"My God," I whispered. "Still no clues?"

Mulder shook his head.

"I found something," I said.

Mulder looked at me. "Where?"

"Follow me," I said.

He followed me out to the spot where I found the paw print.

I easily found it again and we crouched down beside it. 

"Crap," Mulder muttered. "Whatever made this print had to be at least 200 pounds."

"That's exactly what I thought," I said. "Mulder, we've got to search for this thing. It's killed four people now."

"I agree," Mulder said.

We stood up and walked back to where the Sheriff was standing.

"Sheriff? We're going to have to search for this thing. Scully found a paw print near the wooded area. Judging from the size of it, it has to be over two hundred pounds," Mulder said.

Sheriff Anderson's eyes widened. "Oh my God. I can get a bunch of my officers. We can check this wooded area since that's where it seems to be attacking people by," Sheriff Anderson replied.

"That would be good," I said.

A few hours later, we had about 10 officers carrying large rifles. Mulder and I had our guns out. Poor Lizzie had to stay in the car with another female officer to keep an eye on her.

There were 10 flashlight beams cutting through the wooded area. It was about 9:00 PM.

Mulder and I kept together.

About ten minutes into the search, one of the officers yelled, "I found something!"

We jogged toward the sound of his voice. He was leaning over something dark lying on its side.

Mulder and I reached the officer and shone our flashlights onto the object. It was black and brown with tags around its neck.

"It's the Walters' dog," I breathed rapidly.

The dog had been attacked by something and was partially eaten. Mulder turned his face away, looking pale.

Just then, I heard Sheriff Anderson's radio crackle.

"_Sheriff? I think you'd better get back to the car_," the female officer's voice came over the radio terrified.

Sheriff Anderson put the radio close to his face.

"Mags? What's going on?" Sheriff Anderson demanded.

"_Just get back here_!"

We turned and hurried back to the car. Just as we hit the edge of the wooded area, Mulder threw his arm out across my chest to stop me from going any further. The officers stopped in their tracks as well.

The animal we were looking for was pouncing on the windshield of Mulder's Crown Victoria. It was huge and it was a orange/tan color. It was the cross between a tiger and a Sabre-toothed cat. It had black stripes along its body. The rest of it resembled a Sabretooth. The canines were 2 and ½ inches long and over lapped the bottom jaw. Its jaundice colored eyes were locked on the female officer and Lizzie huddled in the backseat of the car. Lizzie was crying hysterically. Mulder went to aim his gun onto the creature, but I put a hand on his arm.

"You could hit Lizzie and the officer," I said, slowly.

Just then, there was barking. We looked and saw a black and white Jack Russell terrier barking at the creature. It was jumping around wildly and barking. The creature jumped down off the car and turned its eyes onto the Jack Russell. It snarled. The Jack Russell began galloping away. The creature took off after it, chasing it into the wooded area.

Mulder and I lunged forward. We opened the back door. The female officer climbed out and was shaky.

"You okay, Maggie?" Sheriff Anderson asked, alarmed as he came over and put his arms around the officer.

Mulder reached into the car and picked Lizzie up in his arms. She was sobbing. 

"It's okay," Mulder said, soothingly as he rubbed her back.

"What the hell was that?" Sheriff Anderson asked.

"The test animal," I said, dryly as I too, rubbed Lizzie's back trying to calm her down.

"I think we should go have a talk with Ollavan Zoo," Mulder replied sternly.

"I agree," Sheriff Anderson said. 

We all climbed back into the Crown Vic and returned to the motel room. Lizzie would not let go of Mulder, so I had to drive. Lizzie was sitting across Mulder's lap with her head resting against his chest.

I shook my head and smiled.

"She certainly likes you," I said, grinning.

"I know," Mulder said, looking down at Lizzie. "Maybe I remind her of her father?"

"Could be," I said, as I stopped for a red light. "Or maybe you're just so irresistible to women."

Mulder grinned at my last words.

"Right. I have them hanging onto every part of my body,"

I glanced at him sideways and laughed.

"Not every part," I replied deadpan.

Mulder burst out laughing too.

The light turned green and I pressed the accelerator. We reached the motel and I shut off the engine. I pushed open my door and climbed out. Mulder did the same. We entered my room. Mulder sat Lizzie down on the bed. I plopped down on the chair and stretched.

Mulder sat down on the other chair.

"Some test animal," Mulder commented looking at me.

"I know! Was it me or did it resemble a Sabretooth cat?" I asked, shocked.

Mulder nodded. "It did. In fact, it looked like one, except the tiger markings,"

"But that's impossible! Sabretooth's existed over 80 million years ago!" I cried.

"I know. I don't know what else to think," Mulder replied.

"Tomorrow, we pay a visit to the Ollavan Zoo," I said, gravely.

Mulder nodded.

THE NEXT MORNING.

MULDER.

The next morning we tracked down the Ollavan Zoo's location. It was about an hour from the town. It looked well kept. Cages of lions, tigers, panthers and a leopard were in one section. In another, was a Reptile Hut where tons of reptiles, snakes and alligators were. They had a section called "Ocean Heaven" where crustaceans, sharks and other sea life were.

And another section marked "PRIVATE: NEW EXHIBITION COMING IN FOUR MONTHS".

Scully and I exchanged looks.

We managed to find the managers area and knocked on the door. It was a white trailer.

About 3 minutes later, a man answered it. It was dressed in jeans and a red shirt. He had blond hair and blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked, looking from Scully to me and to Lizzie.

"My name is Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully. We're with the FBI. Can we ask you some questions?" I asked as Scully and I showed our FBI ID and badges.

"Sure. What about?" the man asked, as he held the door open so we could enter the trailer.

We sat down. Lizzie was sitting on a chair. The man sat down on a stool.

"Your new exhibition," Scully replied.

"It's not due to open in four months," the man replied.

"We read. What type of animal are you planning to show?" I asked.

"A tiger. Why?" the man asked. "I'm Kevin Moss. Manager and Owner of Ollavan Zoo."

We nodded.

"Because apparently something escaped this zoo the other day," I replied, raising an eyebrow at Kevin.

"Oh right," Kevin replied, starting to look a little worried. "It's not dangerous."

"Not dangerous? It's killed four people plus a pet. And we got a glimpse of it," I replied.

Kevin was looking even paler.

"Are you testing animal DNA?" Scully asked. "Because it looked strangely like a cross between a tiger and a Saber-toothed cat."

Kevin swallowed.

"How'd you find out?" Kevin asked.

"One of your employees squealed that it was a test subject," I replied.

"What's going on?" Scully demanded.

Kevin sighed. "We were hoping to create an animal that no one has ever created,"

Scully and I looked at each other.

"Meaning?" Scully said, slowly.

"Meaning that we experimented using tiger DNA and Sabretooth DNA," Kevin said.

"But where would you get Sabretooth DNA? It's extinct," I said, shocked.

"We have a special person that deals with that," Kevin said, quietly.

"So you combined tiger DNA with Sabretooth? Do you realize how dangerous that is? It's killed four people and a pet! How'd it get out?" I asked.

"Five actually. The maintenance guy was cleaning near the cage and accidentally hit the lock. It opened up and it killed him before escaping," Kevin replied.

"How do we stop it?" Scully demanded.

"There's one more thing…it had impenetrable skin," Kevin continued.

"Why?"

"Because we also added the DNA of an alligator. The bite pressure is that 100 times greater than a Pit Bull," Kevin said.

Once again, Scully and I looked at each other.

Shaking my head angrily, I stood up and took Lizzie's hand.

"We'll be back," Scully said, angrily.

We left the trailer and headed back to the car.

"He's in big trouble," Scully said, angrily.

"What's more, he's subjecting people to danger! That thing got out! Why didn't he have a more secure lock on that cage?" I demanded angrily as Scully and I faced each other. Lizzie was looking from me to Scully.

"The point is he was doing something illegal," Scully continued. "And he wasn't very clear on the so called 'help' he got the Sabretooth DNA from."

"Scully, he was messing with Mother Nature! That thing should've never been created!" I argued back.

"Stop fighting!" Lizzie cried suddenly.

Scully and I fell silent. 

"We're sorry," Scully apologized.

"Yeah," I said, smiling at Lizzie.

"Let's head back to the Sheriff's to tell him what we found out and we've got to come up with a plan to stop that animal from killing again," Scully said.

I nodded.

We climbed back into the car and headed back to the Sheriff's office.

We told Sheriff Anderson what we found out. He agreed too that we've got to find a way to destroy that animal and a way to penatrate the skin.

We thought about darts, but then realized the darts wouldn't be able to go through the tough skin if it also had alligator DNA mixed with the tiger and Sabretooth DNA. Scully and I also decided to go to the museum to find out more about Sabretooth behavior. There was a museum about an hour away. We took Lizzie with us and headed to the museum. We pulled up in front of it and pushed open our doors. We climbed out and then closed them.


	5. TheXFiles:Aricontous04

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

CHAPTER FOUR-DRAGGED

We walked up the steps of the museum. I looked at my watch. It was 6:00. We knocked on the door. It was closing. A security guard answered the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"We're with the FBI. Is there a Paleontologist available we could speak with? It's very important," Scully said as she and I showed our badges and ID's again.

"Yes, actually there's a Danielle Peterson you can speak with. Come in," the security guard said as he opened the door and we entered the museum.

He led us down several flights of stairs to an office. There was lettering in the glass part:

DANIELLE PETERSON

PALEONTOLOGIST/ANTHROPLOGY

A woman with long brown hair was typing on a computer. The security guard knocked on the door.

The woman looked up and then got up from behind her desk. She came over and opened the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking from me to Scully.

"These are FBI agents. They're looking for a paleontologist to help them with something," the security guard said.

"Sure. I can help you," she said. "Please, enter."

Scully and I entered the office while the security guard left.

"Please sit," the woman said. She looked down at Lizzie. "And who is this cutie?"

"Lizzie," Scully replied. "We're keeping an eye on her for a case."

The woman smiled and nodded.

"I'm Danielle Peterson," 

"I'm Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully,"

"So, what can I help you with?" Danielle asked.

"We want to know of the Sabretooth's behavior," Scully replied.

"A Sabretooth's behavior? Hmm…they've been extinct for millions of years. We can only speculate about their behavior," Danielle replied.

"Do you have an idea?" I asked.

"Well, they technically hunt like a Mountain Lion, Tiger or any predator in that family. Solo hunters. They use the element of surprise to bring down their prey," Danielle continued.

"Do they crush their victims skulls?" I asked, shifting my weight in the chair.

"They could. Usually, they use their canines like knives and puncture the pray," Danielle said. "Why? What's going on?"

Scully and I looked at each other. We had to tell her what we're dealing with. She was the only one that knows what we're up against.

"Did you hear of the report of the animal escaping the zoo?" Scully asked.

Danielle nodded.

"Well, we learned what type of animal it is," I said dryly. "A Sabretooth cat, mixed with a tiger."

"That's impossible," Danielle said, shaking her head.

"Tell that to this little girls' family. This thing killed her mother and brother. Plus, an elderly couple and a zoo maintenance guy," I replied.

Danielle's face drained of all color.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You're serious."

We nodded.

"What on earth were they doing? Experimentation?" Danielle asked.

We nodded again.

"They apparently combined tiger DNA with that of a Sabretooth," I said.

"Where would they get the DNA for a Sabretooth? That's nearly impossible," Danielle said, stunned.

"We don't know that. All we know is that they combined those two DNA strands with an alligator's DNA so now we've got an impossible animal to stop," Scully replied.

"Alligator, Tiger and Sabretooth DNA all in one animal? Geeze! The animal is ten times more lethal than a normal Sabretooth and tiger!" Danielle cried.

"Do you know how we can stop it?" I asked.

"Well, the underbelly is always soft and vulnerable. We'd have to dart it under there," Danielle replied.

"First, we've got to track this thing down before it kills again," Scully said.

"Absolutely. I can help you there. I had some experience a few years ago in Africa with tracking lions. Where have the killings taken place?"

"Around a wooded area a short bit from here," I replied.

"Perfect. That's where we start," Danielle grinned.

Danielle accompanied us back to the town.

We got the Sheriff to get some more men. Now, we were able to properly search the wooded area.

Lizzie clung close to me, since there was no one available to watch her. We had our guns out, loaded and aimed. Flashlight beams scanned the wooded area's floor.

"I don't hear anything," Scully whispered.

"Neither do I, but we've got to give Danielle a chance," I whispered back.

"Found something!" Danielle called suddenly.

We all hurried over to her.

She was crouched down on the ground next to several paw prints.

"My God…this thing has to be over 200 pounds," she whispered.

"I know," Scully said, nodding. "It's huge."

"From the direction of the prints, it's heading north," Danielle replied.

We slowly began walking forward more.

Suddenly, I heard something in the bushes to my left.

"I hear something," I whispered.

I shone my flashlight beam over to the area.

"What is it?" Scully asked also shinning her flashlight beam to the left.

"I don't know…I heard something over that way," I whispered.

We listened intently for a while.

"Nothing now," I replied.

Just as I was about to continue walking, something jumped on me, knocking me onto my back.

Lizzie was knocked as well. It was the animal.

"HERE!" Scully bellowed.

The animal clamped its jaws around my ankles and began dragging me.

Lizzie was yelling. I couldn't pull my leg from the grasp of its jaws without tearing my leg. It certainly had an extremely strong grip.

"SCULLY!" I yelled.

I could hear the officers yelling and jogging after me.

"MULDER!" I heard Scully yell back.

It was still dragging me deeper and deeper into the wooded area. The trees were getting thicker and thicker.

Finally, I couldn't hear Scully or the officers anymore.

SCULLY.

I couldn't hear Mulder's shouts anymore. There was complete silence. 

"Mulder!" I called again.

Still not answer.

Lizzie was holding onto me tightly and she was sobbing hysterically.

"Where Fox?" Lizzie asked teary eyed.

"I don't know," I said quietly.

"Where is he?" Sheriff Anderson asked.

"It dragged him off that way," I said, gesturing toward the North distance.

"We've got to go back. We'll look for him tomorrow," Sheriff Anderson said.

"I'm not leaving him out there!" I said, angrily.

"Agent Scully, it's getting dark. There's no way we can find him now," Sheriff Anderson said.

I really didn't want to leave Mulder alone out there, but I had no choice and Sheriff Anderson was right.

Reluctantly, Lizzie and I followed Sheriff Anderson out of the woods. Every once and awhile I would glance back, hoping Mulder would come running after us. But he didn't.

We headed back to the motel for the night. Lizzie was really upset. She missed Mulder already.

I crouched down in front of her and put a hand on her knee.

"I miss Mulder too. We'll definitely find him…don't worry," I said, soothingly.

Lizzie nodded, still teary eyed.

She threw her arms around me and hugged me. I hugged her back.

We fell asleep that night. I fell into a troubled sleep; tossing and turning every minute, worrying if that thing killed Mulder yet.

MULDER.

I moaned and opened my eyes. I was lying in some sort of cave deep in the woods.

The cave smelled of decay and rot. I cringed and blinked.

The animal was curled up asleep a few inches from me. Now that I was close to it, it really was a huge animal.

I could hear it breathing. I sounded like a cross between a wheeze and normal breathing. The fur was coarse looking. The tiger bands were thick and black. The long canines actually measured four inches. The tip of the canine was below the bottom jaw. The eyes were closed. Both ears were round shaped and alert. The paws were almost like a human sized hand, but bigger. Deadly sharp claws were curled under. The hindquarters were the most powerful. It looked like it was capable of running a long distance and jumping easily. It looked basically like a small pony.

It had a short, stubby tail. I looked down at my leg. It was badly wounded by puncture wounds. It was bleeding as well. I felt my holster for the gun. It was still there.

I went to lean on the wall to stand up, but the pain from my leg shot up my thigh, causing me to cringe and fall down again.

I sat, frozen. The animal yawned and I saw the full extent of the teeth. It stretched and then went back to sleep.

I had sincerely hoped that Scully would be able to find me. I didn't know what this beast had planned for me. If I was supper or a chew toy.

Then, the animal opened its eyes. I froze even more. It stood up on all four, stretching and flexing its claws. It yawned again.

It looked at me and growled before it turned and walked out of the cave. I remembered my cell phone. I quickly groped around my suit jacket and found it. I dialed Scully's number.

SCULLY.

My cell phone ringing awaked me. It was lying on the table.

It was also 3:00 AM. I groggily pushed off my covers and got to my feet. Lizzie was out cold in the next bed.

I stumbled in the dark over to the table and switched on the light. I picked up the cell phone and hit the "talk" button.

"Scully," I said, groggily.

"Scully? It's me," Mulder's voice came on the line.

"Mulder? Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I rambled on worriedly.

"My leg is wounded. I'm in some sort of cave," Mulder replied. Scully, it's huge! The head is just about the size of a bears. No wonder this thing escaped! It could've certainly broken the lock on its cage! It left the cave. I'm gonna try and escape."

"No! Mulder, don't move! Suppose it comes back while you're escaping! It could kill you!" I cried.

"Scully, I've got to get out of here!" Mulder cried. "But I'm hurt."

"Don't move," I warned him. "We'll find you."

"I'm at the cave's entrance. I've got a clear shot!" Mulder said.

I heard him scuffling. There was a bit of static on the end.

"Mulder?" I demanded.

"Scully! It's after me!" Mulder cried into the phone.

"Mulder," I said, feeling my heart pounding loudly in my chest.

"It's gaining on me!" Mulder cried. I heard him panting as he ran.

"Mulder!" I cried again.

I heard something snarling in the background.

"It jumped on me! Scully!" I heard him cry.

"MULDER!" I yelled into my phone.

At that, Lizzie jumped awake and looked at me.

The phone went dead.

My heart nearly stopped. I threw my cell phone onto the bed, got dressed and quickly got Lizzie dressed.

"Fox okay?" Lizzie asked in a shaky voice.

"I don't know. We're going to find him," I said, making up my mind.

I pulled on a shirt for Lizzie and grabbed my gun, and flashlight.

I took her hand and headed out to the car, which was parked out front.

I put Lizzie in the passenger seat and buckled her in. Then, I went around to the driver's side, pulled open the door and slid onto the seat. I started the car and backed out of the parking spot. I turned left and headed back to the wooded area.

About 10 minutes later, I pulled up along side the wooded area. I put the car in park and then unbuckled my seatbelt.

I turned to Lizzie.

"Listen. I know we tell you this a lot, but you've got to stay in the car. This time, it's extremely dangerous out there okay? If you hear anything, do not open the door until you see Fox or me. Okay?" I asked, softly.

Lizzie nodded, but seemed scared.

I put a hand on the side of her face before pushing open my door and climbing out. I closed the door and pulled out my gun and flashlight and entered the wooded area.

I began walking deep into the wooded area. I shone the flashlight around several times. The floor was scattered with dead leaves, branches and twigs.

"Mulder?" I called looking around and scanning every inch of the floor.

I saw a lump lying face down several inches away from me.

"Mulder?" I cried as I hurried over to him.

It was him. But he was badly mauled and wounded. I dropped to my knees and felt for his pulse. He had a faint one.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," I whispered, as I put the flashlight in my mouth and helped him get to his feet. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we began walking back toward the car. Mulder was in bad shape. He was semi-conscious too.

"Don't worry, Mulder. We're getting out of here," I said as I continued to help him out of the woods.

We reached the car. I carefully opened the back door and laid Mulder down across the back seat. I closed the door and went into the driver's seat. Lizzie turned around in her seat and began whimpering. I started the car and pulled away.

"Don't worry. Fox will be okay," I said, reassuringly.

Lizzie began sobbing softly.

"Hey, he'll be fine…trust me," I said, quietly and gently as I rubbed her back.

She wouldn't sit back down.

"Lizzie, please sit down again. Okay honey? You'll get hurt," I said.

Suddenly, the creature appeared and jumped onto the hood of the car. I slammed on the brake. Lizzie slid off the seat and hit her head on the dashboard.

The creature was thrown off the hood. I hit the accelerator again and the rear tires screeched, kicking up smoke. The car was aimed for the creature.

It jumped onto the roof and then off it, sailing cleanly over the entire car. I glanced back in the rearview mirror at it. It snarled at me.

I drove to the hospital.


	6. TheXFiles:Aricontous05

THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

CHAPTER FIVE-DEFEATED AT LAST

Mulder was stable. He had several stitches on his back and side. Lizzie was sitting in the seat. She was okay. Just a little bump on her head.

Mulder was still out.

I was sitting beside Mulder's bed on a chair. Lizzie was sitting beside me on the other one.

"Will Mulder be okay?" Lizzie asked, in a wobbly voice.

"Yeah. He'll be perfectly fine," I said, softly.

Lizzie beamed happily.

Just then, my cell phone went off.

I pulled it out of my pocket and hit the 'talk' button.

"Scully," I said.

"Agent Scully? It's Danielle Peterson. I'm with the Sheriff. I found something interesting in the woods. I had gone back to look for some more clues," Danielle's voice came on the line.

"Yes?"

"The animals skin. We found a sample of it. There's no alligator DNA in it," Danielle said.

"No DNA? Then why…?" my voice trailed off as realization dawned on me. "He didn't want us to kill it."

"What?"

"Kevin Moss…the manager of the Ollavan Zoo. He told us that the animal had alligator skin and that it was impenetrable," I said, slowly.

"I bet he did that because he didn't want you to kill it," Danielle said.

"We've got to find it and kill it now before it kills again," I said. "Tell the Sheriff that we'll meet him by the wooded area and to come with a bunch of officers with guns."

"Right," Danielle said.

There was a dial tone on the other end. I hung up my phone as well. I turned to Lizzie.

"Listen. I've got to go out for a bit. Can you stay here for me? And not move?" I asked, gently.

Lizzie nodded and looked at Mulder.

"I'll have a nurse look after you too," I said.

I gave her a hug before getting up and leaving the room. As I approached the nurses' station, Mulder's nurse was standing there talking to a doctor.

I walked up to her.

"Excuse me, I must leave for a bit. Is it possible to keep an eye on Lizzie for a bit? I won't be long," I said earnestly.

"Sure! She's adorable," the nurse said, brightly.

"Thanks," I smiled gratefully.

I left the hospital and drove to the wooded area.

When I arrived there, Danielle, Sheriff Anderson and several officers were standing there holding rifles.

"Are you ready?" Sheriff Anderson asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied.

So, we began walking into the wooded area.

We searched each area and part thoroughly.

Suddenly, the place went dead quiet.

We stopped walking and listened intently.

"What is it?" Sheriff Anderson asked, looking around.

"Something's not right," I said. "It's too quiet."

Danielle was also listening.

"It's hunting," she whispered. "This is hunting behavior."

I froze.

There was a ruffling in the bushes from somewhere behind us.

We twirled around.

About five minutes later, there was a rustling in the bushes in front of us. We twirled around again. I heard the guns' hammer's being clicked back. I also pulled out my gun and clicked back the hammer. We aimed our guns toward the bushes. Sheriff Anderson's flashlight beam shone on the bushes.

The next thing we knew, the creature jumped out from the bushes and stood on all four. It growled at us. The flashlight beam caught both canines and they glowed. The jaundice colored eyes reflected the light like gold coins.

We all froze. 

"Don't move," Danielle whispered. "If you run it will chase you."

We all remained still and just waited with baited breath as to what this creature was going to do next.

Then, one of the officers on Sheriff Anderson's side, open fired at it.

"No! What are you doing?" Danielle hissed at him.

But it was too late. The creature spied the officer, snarled and leaped toward him.

It clamped its jaws on the officer's head.

"What will stop this thing?" Sheriff Anderson asked Danielle.

"Did any of your officers happen to take a tranquilizer gun?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah," Sheriff Anderson said, gesturing easily toward a female officer carrying a rifle-like gun.

"What are you carrying in there?" Danielle asked.

"30 Cc's of Isotorin," Sheriff Anderson said.

Isotorin was a powerful drug that anything more than 50 cc's injected into an elephant would kill it instantly.

"Do you have more?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah…why?"

"Inject 90 Cc's," Danielle said.

"Are you sure?" Sheriff Anderson asked surprised.

Danielle nodded.

Sheriff Anderson nodded toward the female agent. She carefully and quietly loaded the gun with 90 cc's of Isotorin. The creature was busy feeding on the other officer.

"Aim at the rib cage. That's where the softest flesh is," Danielle whispered.

The officer nodded and slowly raised the gun and aimed it at the creatures' ribs.

The creature looked up with blood stained muzzle and snarled. The officer opened fired.

A large dart shot out from the end of the gun and was embedded in the skin of the creature. The creature snarled again and went to take several steps toward the officer when she opened fired again. Another dart shot out and was embedded in the creatures' side.

This time, the creature was starting to look drowsy. It took wobbly steps to the side before collapsing onto its side. The breathing became labored and then it stopped.

The officer's cheered happily that this thing was finally over and killed. It killed so many people.

The creatures' body would be destroyed immediately. I sighed and then headed back to the hospital as I had gotten a call that Mulder was wide-awake and looking for me.

I arrived at the hospital 20 minutes later. He was sitting up grinning as I entered the room.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked, as my heart lifted tremendously.

"Like I was hit with a truck," Mulder said, sighing, but then broke into a huge grin. "But I had this cutie to keep me company."

He gestured to Lizzie.

Lizzie grinned broadly at him and then looked at me.

"Scuwy!" she said eagerly as she rushed forward and threw her arms around my waist.

I smiled and gave her a hug back.

"So what's with the monster thingie?" Mulder asked.

"Dead. They injected it with 90 cc's of Isotorin," I replied, sitting down in one of the chairs. Lizzie was sitting on my lap.

"Wow. So it's finally over?" Mulder asked, looking relieved.

I nodded.

"What about Lizzie?" Mulder asked, glancing down at her.

"I don't know. I'm sure she has relatives to look after her," I replied, sensibly.

"What if she doesn't?" Mulder asked.

He got that look that I knew all too well.

"Then we'll look after her, but I'm sure she has someone able to take care of her," I said, smiling.

Mulder nodded.

"Muwder!" Lizzie cried, as she slid down off my lap and ran to Mulder. She crawled into bed with him and just stayed there.

I could see Mulder was deeply attached to her.

Just then, my phone rang.

I reached into my pocket and pulled it out.

"Scully?"

"Agent Scully? This is Sheriff Anderson. I'm so relieved that this thing is over with," Sheriff Anderson said, sighing.

"Me too. What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Some relatives for Lizzie called. They're coming in next week to get her," Sheriff Anderson said.

I looked at Mulder. He must've sensed something was wrong because he watched me intently.

"Okay. That's fine. Tell them we're at the motel," I said.

"Will do. Bye!"

We hung up.

"What is it?" Mulder asked seriously.

"Relatives for Lizzie called. They're coming in next week to pick her up," I said, quietly.

"I see," Mulder said, quietly.

Lizzie ended up dozing off near Mulder.

NEXT WEEK.

Mulder was released from the hospital. I knew what we were about to see was going to be gut wrenching and hard.

It was a nice woman and a man. The woman was Mrs. Walter's sister and she was with her husband. Her name was Amanda Dalton and her husband, Chris.

"Thank you so much for looking after Lizzie," the woman said, pleasantly as she crouched down in front of Lizzie, who was holding onto Mulder's side and she had her head buried deep into his side. I could see Mulder was trying hard not to burst into tears, but I knew he would lose the battle soon.

"You're welcomed," Mulder choked out, forcing a smile.

"Lizzie? This is Amanda. She'll be looking after you from now on," I said, crouching down beside her also.

"NO! MUWDER AND SCUWY LOOK AFTER ME!" Lizzie wailed, digging her face deeper into Mulder's side.

He was starting to crack. I swallowed my own tears and pried Lizzie's fingers off of Mulder's leg.

Lizzie was screaming the entire time.

"You can come and see her anytime," Amanda said, gently as she took a screaming Lizzie's hand.

Lizzie broke loose again and ran back to Mulder. Mulder crouched down and kept his hands on her shoulders.

Mulder took a deep breath.

"Listen, these are nice people. We can't look after you, Lizzie," Mulder said, forcing his voice to remain gentle and stable.

"You don't want me anymore?" Lizzie sobbed.

"We do. But you have to go with your family," Mulder continued. 

Lizzie sobbed still.

"We'll definitely come and see you," Mulder promised.

"Promise?" Lizzie asked as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Promise," I said, also crouching down beside Mulder.

She brightened slightly and gave me a hug. I hugged her back before she turned to Mulder and gave him a hug too.

We watched as Lizzie, Amanda and Chris climbed into their car and pulled away; Lizzie watching us through the back windshield the whole time as the car drew further and further away.

"Don't worry. We'll see her again. I can guarantee it," I said, softly as I gave Mulder a hug.

Mulder looked at me.

"I hope so,"

I wrapped an arm around Mulder's waist as we headed back to our car.

It was finally over for good.

**THE END.**

****

END MUSIC: AMY GRANT-I WILL REMEMBER YOU 


End file.
